Accused of stealing a valuable treasure, a master swordsman follows a trail of violence back to a master sorcerer known as the Bloody Parrot which forces him and a fellow warrior into reluctantly battling the true threat together in order to stop them from stealing the treasure.
This is certainly quite an enjoyable and fun black magic effort. One of the better elements found here is the fact that this one manages to work in plenty of fun from its two main components. Still being produced during the height of the studio's wuxia phase, there's a marvelous amount of fighting and swordplay throughout here, from the opening massacre of the family to the fight with the henchmen in the tavern and the series of side-battles he engages in to prove his mettle while in the village showcase a lot of short-yet-stellar martial arts sequences. While it never goes to the extremes in letting the performers really engage in lengthy sequences to showcase their skills, the continuous nature and quality of the fights makes for a great time to be had here since it descends into a fight quite frequently. This is greatly enhanced in the final half where it has several big brawls which are exceptionally fun, from her dismantling a troop of ninjas single-handedly or the fine brawl inside the mansion to really give this some nice fighting. As well, the horror segments here are cleverly woven into the surroundings to give this one a demented tone featuring all manner of grotesque images and concepts. From the gruesome autopsy that reveals a jewel inside the figures maggot-riddled body to a graphic possession that results in plenty of bloodshed and body mutilation which highlights the chaotic turn the wizard has over people. Even more, the mystery angle about the mysterious needles found throughout the course of the film which is what in turn leads to the main witch featured here which sets up the big selling point here in the numerous amounts of spellcasting this one partakes in. By showing everything that's needed to be prepared for the spell to work, the different outcomes that are shown in graphic detail and the general air of mystery this one goes through in the fog-enshrouded graveyards, hints of mysticism with the strange pit full of creatures and the finale underneath the compound, there's plenty of strong horror elements to be worked over here. This also finds itself blessed with plenty of extravagant nudity as well, giving us full-frontal views for numerous sequences and letting it leer over these scenes rather nicely. Overall, these make for a rather fun time here to hold up over its main flaw. The biggest issue is the film's nonsensical storyline, with this one taking way too many side-plots and tangents that it really seems to go all over the place without following a coherent path. It just has too many stories that don't mean anything and could've easily lost a few. These here are what hold this one down.
Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, Language and drug use.
